BROKEN HOMES Addressing the Impact of House Demolitions on Palestinian Children & Families Palestinian boys search the rubble of dozens of houses demolished by the Israeli army on the border between Rafah and Egypt on June 2, 2004. PHOTO/ Apollo images. Broken Homes: Addressing the Impact of House Demolitions on Palestinian Children & Families ©All rights reserved April 2009 Issued by Palestinian Counselling Centre Beit Hanina-entrance to the Garden of Eden P.O. Box: 17402, Jerusalem Telephone: 00972-2-6562272 or 00972-2-6562627 Fax: 00972-2-6562271 E-mail: [email protected] Save the Children UK P.O. Box: 18117, Jerusalem 91180 Telephone: 00972-2-5838594 Fax: 00972-2-5838595 www.savethechildren.org.uk Welfare Association P.O. Box: 25204, Jerusalem Telephone: 00972-2-2415130 Fax: 00972-2-2975984 www.welfare-association.org Cover image: A Palestinian child stands in a camp for Palestinians displaced in Gaza in Israel’s Dec. ‘08 - Jan. ‘09 offensive. Two hundred and fifty families live in this camp, where Save the Children established a child- friendly space as part of its program. Credit: O. Damo Designed by: Marwan Hamad, InterTech, Ramallah Palestinian formation of the Palestinian Au- Counselling Centre thority in 1994, we increased our The Palestinian Counselling Centre support for partner organisations (PCC) was established by a group in the OPT, focusing on technical of psychologists, sociologists and assistance in health and education. educators in 1983 to work towards We established a full-time pres- improving and developing mental ence in the OPT in 2002. Current- health and services in Palestine. The ly, our programme consists of pro- Centre began operating voluntarily viding emergency support in Gaza, by working in schools to increase protecting children in their schools awareness of the importance of and communities, and promoting counselling and intervention for and protecting children’s rights. children exposed to political abuse and violence. Public services in Welfare Association the field of mental health were at Welfare Association (WA) is a that time confined to Bethlehem’s private, non-profit foundation mental hospital, which treats the established in Geneva in 1983 seriously mentally ill, as well as to support Palestinian society in private clinics of a few psychiatrists. sustainable development. It has Biochemical treatment (medicine become better known in Palestine and electric shock) and behavioural and the Arab region by its Arabic therapy were the only two thera- name, Ta’awoun, meaning ‘coop- peutic methods in use. The PCC eration’. WA beneficiaries are the has sought to educate about a more than four million Palestin- broader range of mental health op- ians who are served by Palestinian tions, coping skills and treatments. non-governmental organizations, community institutions and chari- Save the Children-UK table organizations in the West in the OPT Bank, Gaza Strip, Galilee, Jaffa, Save the Children UK began pro- Akka, Nazareth and Naqab, as well Acknowledgments viding health services to Palestinian as in refugee camps in Lebanon. refugees living in Lebanese camps WA works by strengthening local To all those who contrib- in 1949, following the exodus of organizations, and assisting them uted to the success of this Palestinians from the newly-cre- in improving their services to the research, the children and ated state of Israel. Following the community and in promoting Pales- families, and the project coor- signing of the Oslo Accords and tinian culture, heritage and identity. dinating committee 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1- Executive Summary .........................................................................................7 On the Day of the Demolition ...........................................................18 2- Introduction.........................................................................................................10 The Demolition Process .........................................................................19 House Demolitions and Internal Following the Demolition ...................................................................... 21 Displacement in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ...................10 On the Day of the Study Interview ................................................ 25 House Demolitions: A Backgrounder ...................................................11 Mental Health Findings ............................................................................ 27 Why Are Houses Demolished? ...............................................................12 4- What is Being Done? ....................................................................................34 What Happens When a House is Demolished? ............................13 5- Conclusion .........................................................................................................36 How Do House Demolitions Impact Communities? ..................14 Wider Consequences of No Response .............................................39 Related International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law..16 6- Recommendations .........................................................................................40 3- Studying the Impact 7- Annex - Research Methodology ............................................................43 of House Demolitions on Children & Families ...................................18 8- Endnotes ..............................................................................................................47 About This Study ..............................................................................................18 House Demolitions: The Day of and the Day After .....................18 5 Mother of activist Rayad Abu Daher inspects damage at her home in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 14, 2004. Israeli forces destroyed their home to punish Abu Daher, who is accused of planning attacks on Israelis. PHOTO/OSAMA SILWADI 6 1 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since Israel’s 1967 occupation of a financial asset and often the Using structured mental health the West Bank, including Jerusa- property inside it. For the families questionnaires, semi-structured lem and Gaza, it is estimated that surveyed in this study these losses questionnaires of the family’s Israeli civil and military authorities respectively totalled an average demolition experience and socio- have destroyed 24,000 Palestinian of approximately $105,090 and economic conditions, and open homes in the occupied Palestinian $51,261 per family.1 interviews with families, this study territory (OPT). The rate of house depicts a portrait of Palestinian demolitions has risen significantly But the impact goes beyond loss families who have experienced since the second Intifada began in of physical property and economic house demolitions. This depiction September 2000 and, as this study opportunity. This report is unique enables the humanitarian commu- shows, house demolitions have in the connection it makes be- nity to better advocate for an end become a major cause of forced tween the impact of house demoli- to demolitions and, in the interim, displacement in the OPT. tions on children and their families, put in place a comprehensive and and the responsibility of duty bear- coordinated response for families When a home is demolished, a ers to protect and assist. who are facing displacement due family loses both the house as to demolition or other factors. “They told us that we could return at five o’clock, but where were we supposed to go after they demolished our home? It’s gone. ” 7 The main findings of the Compared to children of similar one-third of the parents were study were: demographics living in the same in danger of developing men- geographical locations, children tal health disorders and some House demolitions cause dis- who have had their home reported that the demolition placement. Fifty-seven percent demolished fare significantly precipitated a decline in their of 56 families surveyed never worse on a range of mental physical health also. returned to their original resi- health indicators, including: dences. Those who did return, withdrawal, somatic complaints, The social support that par- on average, spent over a year depression/anxiety, social diffi- ents receive and their ability to displaced before returning. culties, higher rates of delusion- employ coping strategies for al, obsessive, compulsive and themselves and their children House demolitions are fol- psychotic thoughts, attention (usually determined by proxim- lowed by long periods of difficulties, delinquency, violent ity to the original home and the instability for the family, with behaviour - even six months family’s cultivated network of over half of the families who after the demolition. resources) may mitigate some responded taking at least two of the detrimental effects. years to find a permanent Families also report deteriora- residence. tion in children’s educational Maintaining the mother’s mental achievement and ability to health is particularly crucial for At the time of interviewing, study. children under 12. the average monthly income of families surveyed was NIS1,561 A fundamental factor affecting (USD 355) – well below both the child’s mental health follow- the absolute (deep) and rela- ing demolition is the psycho- tive poverty lines.2 logical state of the parents, yet 8 Based on its findings, the study recommends that all stakeholders-Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the international community and donor governments- act immediately to respond